Teenage Phenom Bryce Harper Already Knows How To Hit The Best Pitcher In Baseball

Bryce Harper has been an incredible lightning rod for the
Washington Nationals since being called up April 27.

Tuesday, Harper continued to marvel fans and teammates alike with
his 2-for-3 performance against the best pitcher in Major League Baseball: Roy
Halladay. (He was 2-for-5 overall.)

Harper hit a single in the first, but saved his most impressive
knock for later on.

With runners on first and second in the third inning, Harper came
up and belted a first-pitch curveball to deep right center field,
scoring both runners.

OFF ROY HALLADAY.

A rookie shouldn't be able to do this so easily. Let alone one
who's not even 20 years old.

But apparently Harper has Halladay all figured out already (via
WaPo).

“I’ve been watching him for about three years. He throws
first-pitch curveballs to so many people, and they just let it
get over the plate. I was just really trying to get something up
in that situation and get something going."

Harper's post game statement is impressive for a number of
reasons: 1) Young players always struggle with breaking balls
once they get to the big leagues, 2) Halladay has been using his
first-pitch curveball to intimidate hitters for a while now, 3)
NO ONE EVER sits on a first-pitch curveball, let alone
inexperienced rookies who normally look for a fastball and pass
up a pitch like the one Harper mashed for a triple, and 4) Harper
actually had the wherewithal and foresight to be watching
Halladay tape for three years.